Shocking Charlotte Dujardin video released of horse being whipped after Olympian banned

Footage of the incident in which Charlotte Dujardin is accused of striking a horse multiple times with a long whip has been released.

The six-time Olympic medalist was set to compete for Team GB in Paris this summer but withdrew after a whistleblower sent a clip of her whipping a horse in a training session to the Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI).

The video, released by Good Morning Britain, was taken four years ago and allegedly showed the 39-year-old mistreating a horse when trying to get the animal to slowly trot during a lesson with a young student. With the trainee rider mounted, Dujardin can be seen whipping the horse’s legs repeatedly.

Dujardin revealed in a statement on Instagram that the clip was being investigated by the British Equestrian Federation and the FEI, and she has now been suspended for six months by the latter.

She apologised for the clip and admitted to making an ‘error of judgement’, insisting that her behaviour was ‘out of character’ and the footage is not a true reflection of how she trains her horses.

Dujardin was set to head to France with aspirations of becoming the most decorated British female Olympian. With six medals to her name already, including team and individual gold medals at the London 2012 games, just one more medal would have seen her eclipse the record held by ex-cyclist Kelly Holmes.

Dutch lawyer Stephan Wensing raised the complaint against Dujardin on behalf of his client, who has opted to remain anonymous throughout the process. He told The Guardian: “Charlotte Dujardin was in the middle of the arena. She said to the student: ‘Your horse must lift up the legs more in the canter.’ She took the long whip and she was beating the horse more than 24 times in one minute. It was like an elephant in the circus.

“At that time, my client was thinking this must be normal. She is an Olympic winner. Who am I to doubt? My client asked around and was warned against speaking out in the UK.

“But last year my client saw others suspended in the UK and elsewhere. And this weekend, she eventually made a decision to let me admit the complaint to the FEI and that happened yesterday. The FEI took this immediately very seriously.”

Dujardin's fiance Dean Wyatt has also spoken out on the footage, telling the Daily Mail: "It's all come out of the blue. I can't say anything beyond Charlotte's statement. All we can do is wait and see what happens."